As we welcome a new school year, it is with great joy that we extend a warm welcome to all members of our vibrant school community, whether new or returning.
We trust that each one of you has enjoyed a restful and joyous Christmas break and you feel ready to receive all the blessings of 2025. With the echoes of holiday cheer still lingering, we are eager to embark on a new chapter together as we look ahead to a year filled with growth, camaraderie and shared accomplishments.
A heartfelt welcome to our incoming students and families in 2025. Regardless of the year level, the warmth of a welcome in the spirit of Nano Nagle hospitality is alive and well across our school.
We welcome the following new staff to our school for 2025: Miss Madeleine Krebs (Prep); Mrs Louise Gale (Support Teacher: Inclusive Education); and Mrs Teagan Reilly (Guidance Counsellor). Please extend a wonderful Christ the King School welcome to them.
Parent-Teacher Information Evening
All parents and caregivers are invited to attend our Parent-Teacher Information Evening for Prep to Year 6, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 11 February. There will be two sessions:
- 6pm: Prep, Year 1 and Year 2
- 6:35pm: Year 3, Year 5, Year 5/6
These sessions will be held in your child's classroom. The evening is not a Parent/Teacher interview, but a time for parents and caregivers to receive important information relating to classroom procedures together with a brief overview of the curriculum. This format will hopefully allow you to meet/see more than one teacher. It only requires parents/caregivers to be available on one evening and is for parents and legal guardians only.
We look forward to seeing all families at our Parent-Teacher Information Evening.
Family Contact Lists for each class
At Christ the King School, a valuable part of the communication among parents and from the school is through our Parent Class Representatives. Ideally, each class has a Parent Class Representative who shares information regarding social opportunities, volunteering and school events. For different classes there are a number of ways this communication and networking happens, including email, Facebook and other social media.
To ensure the privacy of families is protected, the sharing of contact information among families must be done in the right way, taking the preferences of families into account. To assist with this, the CTK School Administration and the P&F would like to work with our Parent Class Representatives to set up a Family Contact List for each class.
What you need to know
This class contact list will include each child's name, parent names, and parent emails.
Phone numbers will not be included.
Inclusion in the contact list is completely optional.
Parents have the option to not have their email address listed on the contact list, or only have their email address available to the Parent Class Representative.
The Family Contact List is to be used for social contact between families and to help facilitate the distribution of information from the P&F Association and the school.
CTK School's Administration Office staff coordinate and distribute these lists.
The P&F has a master copy of the Family Contact List to enable the quick sharing of information.
Email addresses must be placed in 'BCC' when sent from the School and/or the P&F to maintain privacy.
The Family Contact List will be arranged on an 'Opt Out' basis. Please tell us by Wednesday, 12 February if you do not wish to be on the list. If you do not advise us otherwise, we will presume you want to be included in the Family Contact List.
Please note, your preference to be included or otherwise will be kept by the Office in order to crate the Family Contact Lists for future years. However, families can 'Opt Out' of these contact lists at any point by contacting the School Office.
A reminder about student medication requirements
In our final newsletter for 2024, we advised families of a new Brisbane Catholic Education procedure and practice relating to medications administered to students at school or during school-based activities. Under this new policy, all medication to be administered (given) to student by CTK School staff must be medically authorised by a registered health practitioner.
Medication includes:
- Over-the-counter medicines – can be purchased from supermarkets, health food stores, or online retailers. Examples include paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, alternative medicines, supplements, vitamins etc.
- Pharmacy medicines – can only be purchased from a pharmacy. Examples include cough and cold medicines, heart burn etc.
- Pharmacist only medicines – can only be purchased at a pharmacy after speaking with the pharmacist. Examples include asthma inhalers, EpiPens, mild steroid creams, glucagon (hypokit).
- Prescription only medicines – can only be purchased from a pharmacy with a valid prescription from a treating health practitioner.
- Controlled drugs – such as Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Artige, Concerta), Dexamfetamine sulfate (Aspen, Sigma), Lisdexamfetamine (Vynase), opiod pain medication, etc.
There are also new forms for medications to be administered at school. Specifically, if your child requires medication to be administered at school, we require the following forms to be completed:
Form A: Request to administer medication
Form B: Medication Administration Instructions
Form C: Request for Student to self-administer medication (where students are able to recognise the signs and/or symptoms of their health condition and can administer their own medication).
Additional written instructions must be provided for 'as needed' medication in the following forms:
an Asthma Action Plan and/or
an Anaphylaxis Action Plan and/or
a medication order for insulin with a diabetes management plan and/or
a Medication Administration Instructions form.
There are also new processes for the supply and return of medication, so please be patient.
All medication, with the exception of those for students who have correct authority from the school, must be stored in the School Office.
Please speak with Mrs Calista Simmons on 07 3379 7872 or in-person Tuesday-Thursday between 8:15am and 3:30pm if you have questions or concerns.
P&F holiday projects
A massive thank you to our Parents & Friends (P&F) for the wonderful contributions to upgrades in our school grounds over the Christmas holidays. In particular, I'd like to thank Anne-Louise Keane who was a chief organiser in arranging fence painting, new school signage, and the new fencing (a joint CTK School and P&F project).
Have a great fortnight,
Damien
A prayer for the new school year
Creator God,
As we begin this new year with all the anticipation it brings, may we be reminded that as the community of Christ the King, we remain united in love and inspired by the work and light of Nano Nagle.
We pray for Hearts of Simplicity, believing that you have provided us with all we need to love each other and the earth. We are your hands and feed on Earth. Guide us in your simple ways of love.
We pray for Hearts of Hospitality that make us welcoming and hospitable to all who join our community this new year. Guide us in hospitable ways.
We pray for Hearts of Compassion so that we may love and care more deeply. To show compassion is to act with care and empathy towards all of creation. Guide us in your compassionate ways.
We pray for Hearts of Faith, remembering that you made a promise to love and care for us always. Guide us in your faithful ways.
We pray for Hearts of Justice, believing that you created us all as equal in your eyes. We act justly when we seek to do good for everyone. Guide us in your just ways.
We pray for Hearts of Respect, believing that you created the world so that we might live life to the full. To respect all of creation means to recognise the dignity of all of creation. Guide us in your respectful ways.
In the name of Christ our King
Amen